


Family is Life's Greatest Blessing

by imbeccacile



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 00:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12947019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imbeccacile/pseuds/imbeccacile
Summary: It's the third night of Hanukkah, and Jax and his mother visit the Steins to join in on the festivities.





	Family is Life's Greatest Blessing

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still in denial about everything that's happened recently, so here's some fluff. Martin's retired just like he wanted :)
> 
> I'm also Jewish and I just love when Martin rubs it in people's faces because screw ignorance, right???
> 
> Also, Jax's mother isn't named and neither is Lily's boyfriend, so I've just given them the names Joanna and Matthew respectively.

It hadn't taken much convincing on Jax's part to get his mother to agree to joining the Steins on the third night of Hanukkah.

In fact, only an hour before they were due to leave, he found out that his mother and Clarissa often met for tea while he and Martin were on the Waverider.

"I do have a life outside of you, Jefferson," Joanna had joked, pinching her son's cheek affectionately. He had laughed, and realized how good it felt to be home for the holidays. They had set up their tree the day he got home, full of hastily made ornaments from when he was a child, shiny plastic ones they had gotten years ago, a special glass one with Joanna's wedding date in cursive on the front, and a fading but still rather bright yellow star for the top.

Jax had taken a step back to watch his mother while she dug through the bag of ornaments. Her hair was up in a bun as usual, though the dark hair was now invaded with light streaks of gray, and each time she smiled, her eyes crinkled. But despite all that, he still saw the way her smile brightened up the room, the way her laugh made everybody feel instantly at ease, and the proud look that made its way to her face each time she talked about him.

No matter how much she tried to deny it, he still thought she was beautiful. Despite all she had been through, she was still strong. And he loved her more than words could explain.

"Jefferson! It's time to leave!" Jax was pulled out of the memory at his mother calling for him from down the hall. He was in a nice button-down, dress pants, and dress shoes that were almost too tight. Almost. He grinned.

Gray would be proud to see him like this.

He straightened up, nodded, and headed out of the door to join his mother.

***  
"Joanna, Jefferson! How nice it is to see you; come in, come in! Make yourself at home!" Clarissa opened the door wide enough to let her two smiling guests inside. Joanna went in for a hug, and Jax sort of chuckled and gestured to the presents he was holding; he'd hug her, but his hands are full.

"Jax!" He turned, finding Lily holding little Ronnie in her arms, who was dressed in an adorable blue and white striped onesie with a little menorah on the front. Jax smiled widely and waved as best he could with the presents in hand. "You can put those down over here." Jax followed her gesture and placed the presents down atop the dining room table, and then moved to hug her carefully.

"Hey, Lily!" When he pulled away, he bent down a little, making eye contact with the baby. He held his finger out, and Ronnie took it, babbling incoherently. He chuckled. "Hey there, little guy. Nice to see you again." Jax looked up at Lily again, still grinning lopsidedly.

"I guess he missed you," she laughed, and soon Ronnie let go of Jax's finger to stuff his hand in his mouth. It was then that Matthew came around the corner, wearing a blue Hanukkah sweater that lit up when he pressed a button.

"Hey man," he exclaimed, lifting his hand to shake with Jax's, "Been awhile."

Jax grinned and took his hand, shaking it firmly. "Yeah, it has. Nice to see you, Matt."

Lily laughed, tapping Jax's shoulder lightly. "You know, Ronnie's not the only one who missed you." She nodded at somewhere behind him, and when he turned, he found himself grinning wider than he had the entire night.

"Gray!"

Martin was in a nice button-up blue shirt, a tiny menorah embroidered near his collarbone. His hair was neat as always, glasses perched on the edge of his nose, and his smile matched Jax at the call. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them into a tight hug.

"Hello, Jefferson. I'm so glad you could join us tonight."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, old man," he replied, patting him on the back lightly. They stepped away after a moment, but the grins on both of their faces stayed for a lot longer.  
***  
After dinner was ready, everyone made their way to the kitchen, where the Menorah sat on the counter top. Clarissa opened the drawer, taking a lighter from it. She flicked it on, and gave her family a smile.

"Martin, dear...?" she asked, and he gave a small nod, returning her smile.

She lit the middle candle, the flame bouncing seconds after the lighter left the tip. Martin took Jax by the shoulders, guiding him closer to the counter, despite his protests. He had no idea what the old man was planning.

"Take the middle candle out, and light the other two with it," Martin instructed gently. Jax looked at him, then at Joanna, who gave an encouraging smile and nod. Jax shrugged; he'd been on fire before, he could handle lighting candles.

Slowly, carefully, two fingers closed around the base of the blue candle, which was already melting wax, as Martin began to sing.

_"Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam; asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu; l'had'lik neir shel Hanukkah."_ Jax had finished the lighting of the candles much before Martin had finished, and he watched in a sort of wonder as he sang. "It's Hebrew. A blessing. Thanking the Lord for keeping the Hanukkah lights...well, lit."

Jax smiled again. It was a nice tradition. And lighting the candles had been pretty fun.  
***  
Dinner had been lively, bright, full of laughter. Jax had some of the best food he'd ever had, and both he and his mother complimented Clarissa endlessly on her cooking; especially since neither of them had ever had half of the dishes on the table. The dinner ended with everyone trying a sufganiyah, which was almost like a jelly donut, but Jax thought it was ten times better.

After dinner, they found themselves in the cozy living room; Clarissa and Martin beside each other on the couch, Matthew in the rocking chair with the baby on his lap, Joanna in the recliner, and Jax and Lily perched on the carpet floor, which was much more comfortable than he would guessed. It was sort of plush, even with all the years it had been stepped on.

"I wanna go first!" Lily exclaimed excitedly, crawling over to the corner, where all the gifts wrapped in blue and gold had been moved. Matthew chuckled.

"She's very excited about tonight's gifts in particular," he explained with a shrug of one shoulder.

"Clearly," Martin chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"Okay, okay..." She crawled back over, handing Joanna a medium sized gift bag, giving her parents a medium sized box, and handed Jax a medium sized square of some sort.

Joanna went first, laughing a little at the amount of tissue paper stuffed into it. When she got to the bottom, she gasped as she pulled out two gorgeous diamond stud earrings. "Lily, these are stunning! Thank you so, so much. You too, Matthew," she added with a wink to the other, who shrugged as if he hadn't even known what the gift was in the first place. The room shared a laugh, and Martin and Clarissa went next.

"A conjoined gift, huh?" Clarissa asked with a raised eyebrow, as if suspicious as to what could be in the box. Lily was bouncing on her heels with excitement. Jax bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing.

Martin tore away the paper and together they opened the box. Their jaws dropped simultaneously, and they looked at Lily incredulously, asking with their eyes if she was being serious. She nodded vigorously and laughed.

"Well, tell them what we got you!"

"A four day trip to Miami?" Clarissa exclaimed with extreme surprise. Jax grinned, seeing the look on Martin's face. It looked like he couldn't figure out how to speak. "Honey, you've outdone yourself," she continued, shaking her head.

"It's nothing! You two deserve it," Lily replied with a bright smile, seeming to enjoy Martin's dumbfoundedness just as much as Jax was.

"This is ludicrous!" Martin finally exclaimed, to which the whole room starting laughing again. "Thank you so much, my dear." Lily beamed.

"Your turn, Jax," Matthew called, and Jax looked down at the little square in his hands. He wondered what on earth it could be. Tearing open the paper, he recognized a familiar face. It was an album, of one of his favorite bands that he used to listen to while working on cars.

He tore the rest of the paper off and smiled widely, looking over the songs. "This is awesome! I don't even have this one yet."

"This was Matt's idea," Lily admitted, smiling almost proudly. "He said you mentioned liking them before."

"I do." He looked up at Matthew, who was grinning almost as wide as the man in front of him. "Thanks, man!"

"Pleasure's all mine, dude."

Joanna looked at everyone else, and with a smile she stood up. "All right, it's our turn," she announced, and Jax scrambled to his feet to help her. They handed the presents to each member of the Stein family; a new lion doll for Ronnie, who instantly began holding it close to his chest, a new gray scarf for Clarissa (Joanna's pick), a sweater that had a cube and equation on it that said _No Flux Given_ for Lily (Jax's pick), a t-shirt that said _Ask My Wife_ for Matthew (Lily found it very amusing), and a white mug for Martin that read _#1 Dad_.

Martin was speechless for even longer than when he opened Lily's gift. Jax smirked.  
***  
Soon, the time came to say goodbye. It was late. Ronnie was asleep in Clarissa's arms, and everybody else had begun yawning.

Joanna turned and started chatting with Clarissa for a little bit longer. Jax smiled over at Lily, giving her a hug, and then gave Matthew a bro-hug. "Y'know, if you ever need a babysitter..."

"You'll be the first person to know," Lily finished the sentence, laughing. He nodded lightly, patting Matthew on the shoulder, and moved over to the front of the stairs, where Martin was standing with a giant grin on his face.

"You alright, Gray?" he asked, standing beside him.

"More than alright, dear boy," he replied, looking over at Jax with a mixture of gratitude and bliss on his face. Jax didn't need their psychic connection anymore to realize exactly how he was feeling, "I'm so grateful."

Jax placed a hand on his shoulder. "You and me both, old man," he sighed, smiling lightly.

"Family means the world to me, Jefferson. I cannot explain to you how happy I am that you are here. You are family, too." Jax smiled, feeling his heart melt a little. It was crazy to think how far they had come together, and he woudn't trade it for the world.

"Alright, alright," he laughed, holding his arms out, "come here, Gray." They embraced.

It felt like home.


End file.
